This is my first weekend back to heavier training. I’ll be doing 3 weeks of conjugreat (how many weeks is it now? 2.5? Having this meet on a Thursday is fucking me up!!!) then back to linear peaking like we usually do before a meet.
Todd Brock moved back to Ohio recently and having him out at the gym has been exceptional. Between Dave and Todd and I have a fucking dream team. Todd and Dave agree on a lot but also have two different approaches. Todd is really about training with intent. All of his movements are so deliberate that half a training session is exhausting. I literally took a nap before writing this. Usually I try to go HEAVY on supplemental exercises assuming that I am getting the most out of it because I’m going balls to the wall. Dave has been trying to reign that in for years now. I’m starting to understand but now that I’m putting a different typpe of effort into my movements, it ensures that I actually can’t do that much weight but I still feel like I’m getting a fuck ton out of it.
I have always considered myself extremely fortunate to have Dave’s guidance and feel like things could not be any better with the help I get from him and now that I have two great lifter/coaches I am pretty fucking amped to be honest.
Anyway more on how I am doing my movements with INTENT.
Saturday I opted to pull. Todd worked with me on my start position so that I’m starting a little farther back than normal so I don’t end up with my shoulders too far in front of me which leads to big trouble in little lockout china. He got me to squat it up more rather than RDL it and get some more glute and hamstring involvement in rather than a lot of low back. Honestly, it was an easy transition. I always thought changing my deadlift start position would be a step back but it felt pretty darn good. Worked up to 275 bar weight with 12 chains total. On my last set, the bar stalled at my knees. But I was in such a good position that I was able to just pop the ol butt through to lock it out. Which is how a deadlift should be.
Then on to low box yoke bar close stance squats working up to 2x5. Todd did not want technical breakdown. Usually I just work up until these are heavyish even if they look shitty then that’s my working weight. To me, I just try to get the weight up however I can. He had me pausing on the box, exploding up, not pushing out too much, and keeping the bar path in as straight a line as possible.
Next up, GHRs. Again, something I was doing suboptimally. We worked on going just to parallel, extending all the way (legs straight) then being explosive out of the bottom of the movement. I held 20 lbs or had a mini band in the crook of my arms for these. Doing these well I only got about 8-10 reps with 20 fucking lbs as oppose dto suing 40 lbs and doing like 12 the way I used to do them.
Reverse hypers- 2 plates per side for sets of 10 arching at the top with legs straight. I have a tendency to let my knees bend some
Honestly after all that my impetus to do free time work was pretty negligible so I did some abs, innie outtie machine, single leg leg extension and face pulls.
Dave must be so happy that someone else is telling me to not go heavy on my shit all the time too. Good co-parenting.
